bittersweet
by missmaryXDD
Summary: Anthology. 50 prompts. Post-cannon. It's not a love story, he said. She tried for her baby, for Sasuke, for herself but she was so tired, maybe if she just closed her eyes for a little bit she wouldn't be this tired? Maybe the pain would go away?
1. bittersweet

**.**

**bit·ter·sweet·**

_**adj**_**· **_arousing pleasure tinged with sadness or pain_

.

She feels him before she sees him. Not his chakra, no, of course not, that his carefully hidden so that nobody would know of his presence here but she feels him, his presence that is as familiar to him as her own hands. She feels him.

She pretends she doesn't though (it's a game they play sometimes, a twisted, nerve wrecking game to see who lasts longer without acknowledging the other and she always loses, _of course_) and walks straight to her desk, takes off her shoes and plants her bare feet on the top of the desk. Only, today she doesn't want to play, she's been missing him for far too long so she looks up to the dark corner he decided to hide in today and she smiles.

"Hi." Sakura greets the owner of her heart and is met with silence. That's alright, tough because it's familiar. It's normal.

"I worry for you sometimes." She says, still smiling. "Are you going to spend your life on the run? Hidden in dark corners?"

There's a sadness in her that she dares not to show, not to him for fear he might leave. He never does though, not before it's time and he always knows.

Sasuke moves away from the wall then, uncrossing his arms and walking up to her. Sakura's heartbeat increases rapidly as she watches him kneel before her. Her mouth goes dry when he lightly touches her ankles and brings her feet down. A soft gasp leaves her mouth when he rests his hands on her hips and her eyes tear up at the sight of him laying his head on her lap.

Sakura's hand automatically move to his hair, first pulling at it and then, as she relaxes and her tears stop, she caresses Sasuke's soft dark hair slowly.

This is their ritual, he can never stop needing and she can never stop giving, no matter how much pain it caused her because Sasuke needs her now, really needs her and she knows, oh how she knows that she could easily take advantage of that and take for herself what he refused to give all those years ago. But she doesn't, because she's not that kind of person, because he's messed up, because she'll scare him away, because he's fragile, because, because, because…

…because he doesn't love her.

Because Sasuke needs her but he doesn't love her.

Sakura starts counting the minutes, soon, he'll be leaving again and she never knows when he'll return, if he'll return.

Sasuke breaks their carefully established routine then by raising his head to look at her and then moving closer and closer and closer until…

Until he stops, a few inches before his lips meet hers he stops, his eyes going back and forth between her own eyes and her lips and she realizes he's waiting for her. She's the one who'll make the final decision. The one who'll take the final step.

Should she shorten the distance and take what she always wanted? Where would that leave them? What effects would it have on him and his emotional stability that is so fragile?

Should she kiss Sasuke?

Sakura does. And she sees fireworks, butterflies, rainbows and sugar and candy and and and…

And she sees love. And she knows then that they might not be together publicly, that he'll always be on the run and that he will never settle down but they will always have this.

And it's enough.

It has to be.

.

* * *

You know when you get something in your head before you go to bed and you just have to write it? This is it for me.

I might turn this into a series of drabbles (like fifteen minutes). You guys are welcome to send me prompts or requests for anything you want me to write here or on my tumblr page.

xoxo


	2. bet

**.**

**bet**·**P**·**/b****ɛ****t/**

_**verb**__·__risk a sum of money or valued item against someone else's on the basis of the outcome of an unpredictable event such as a race or game_

_._

"I bet you can't kiss her." Naruto said, gulping down his ramen.

"Hn."

"No, seriously." The blonde pointed towards their pink haired teammate a few meters away, chatting happily with Hinata. "I bet you can't, you're too much of a chicken to do it."

"Why would I want to kiss her, dobe?" Sasuke dismissed his idiot best friend. "It's stupid."

"Because you'd be winning a bet but you're too afraid to do it." Naruto gloated.

Sasuke glared at the blonde, he was really getting on his nerves. Sasuke was seriously considering using his sharingan to shut him up.

"Sasuke's afraid to kiss a girl!" Naruto mocked him, waving his arms around.

Sasuke clenched his teeth, he had enough of this idiot. "Shut up, you moron and I'm not afraid."

"Prove it, then. Go over there and kiss Sakura-chan." When Sasuke said nothing, he continued. "You can't, can you? That's alright though, that only means I win the bet. Give me my money, please."

Sasuke slapped him upside the head. "Idiot."

"Fine, I'll give you one last change to get your money and pride back. I bet your whole collection of-"

"My collection?!"

"your whole collection of big knives tha-"

"they're called katanas, you idiot."

"that you can't go over there and kiss Sakura-chan…" Naruto winked at him. "on the lips."

Oh, it was so on. Sasuke wasn't going to let Naruto win, not where there was his pride and his family's heirloom at stake, no, the idiot would not, ever best him.

Sasuke quickly got up from the round bench and approached the two girls.

"Sakura." He cleared his throat to make her look at him and when she did, he grabbed her by the wrist and joined their lips.


	3. birth

**.**

**birth****·p·****/burth/**

**_noun__·_**_the emergence of a baby or other young from the body of its mother; the start of life as a physically separate being_

_._

Sakura thanked the kind fruit seller from the market and grabbed the plastic bag full of fresh fruit, joining the other bags already on her hands. Suddenly, the weight of the bags on her hands disappeared and an angry looking Ino appeared in front of her, carrying her bags.

"You're back!" Sakura smiled, she hadn't seen her best friend in over three months since she had been away on a mission.

"Just arrived and I see you carrying all these by yourself." Ino gestured to the bags she was now holding. "Where is your husband?"

"On a mission."

Ino frowned. "When are you due?"

Sakura smiled, placing her hands on her big belly and stroking it softly. "In two weeks."

"And your idiotic husband decides to go on a mission?" Ino was practically spitting fire, gesturing wildly as she did when she was mad.

"He'll be back tonight." Sakura tried to reassure her best friend.

Ino huffed, still mad. The blonde was about to say something but she seemed to have changed her mind and she started waving.

"Naruto!" She called. "Come and help Sakura out."

Naruto was beside them in a flash, wrapping a protective arm around Sakura.

"What do you need, Sakura-chan?"

"Here." Ino deposited the bags onto Naruto's hands. "Walk her home." And then the blonde left.

Sakura smiled as Naruto started chatting mindlessly about everything and nothing. Her son was being especially hard on her today with his kicks, he insisted on kicking right where it hurt most. There was a consistent pain in her lower belly that didn't seem to be going away, unlike the pain of his kicks.

Naruto opened the door for her, letting her get in before heading straight to the kitchen. Sakura followed him there and she had just passed through the door when she felt her pants and legs getting wet. Sakura looked down and saw a small puddle at her feet.

"Oh, dear."

Naruto rushed to her side, looking mystified as he looked from her to the puddle and back to her.

"What happened?" The blonde asked, worriedly.

"My water broke."

All hell broke loose after that, Naruto panicked and was running and trashing wildly around the house, looking as if he were about to faint.

Sakura managed to grab hold of him and stop him.

"Breath, Naruto. Breathe." When he did as she instructed, Sakura proceeded to explain to him why there was no need to rush to the hospital.

"This is my first birth, it'll take a while before I'm fully dilated, there's no need to rush."

Sakura pushed him towards the stairs. "Just grab the two bags on the closet, the white one and the baby blue one."

Sakura dropped down on the sofa, hoping to get a bit of rest since it would be a while before she was actually ready to give birth.

She couldn't have been more wrong. Right after the water broke, the contractions started and not half hour after that, they were occurring in intervals of very few minutes.

That's impossible, it can't, it's too soon. Every medical book said that her contractions should be occurring in longer intervals between one another. And yet here she was, in the middle of the street and about to give birth.

Naruto had sent one of his clones ahead, to warn Tsunade-sama so the hospital would be ready for them when they arrived.. Sakura was promptly sat on a wheel chair and wheeled into a room where Tsunade was waiting for her.

Her mentor did a quick check up on her and the baby. "The baby's ready to come out."

"But Sasuke's not here." Sakura cried. Her husband should be here to witness the birth of their son.

"You'll have to do without him. C'mon push."

And she did, she pushed as they had taught her, she breathed as the medical books said she should, she did everything she should have but all she felt was pain, all she saw was blood and the baby wasn't coming out.

"C'mon, darling, push." A nurse encouraged her, stroking her damp hair tenderly.

"I can't." Sakura cried, she had no strength left, she was so, so tired and there was so much blood, why was there so much blood?

"Yes, you can." Sasuke was there, looking at her, encouraging her. Sasuke held her hand and kissed her forehead and helped her through the pain.

Sakura tried, she really did. She tried for her baby, for Sasuke, for herself but she was so tired, maybe if she just closed her eyes for a little bit she wouldn't be this tired? Maybe the pain would go away?

Everything went black.

.

_...to be continued..._


	4. breath

**.**

**breath·****/br****eth****/**

_**noun****·**__archaic,__the power of breathing; life_

_._

Pain. All she felt was pain, her whole body seemed like it was on fire, burning and burning and never stopping. And it was so dark, why was it so dark?

Sakura's head felt like it was about to explode, it hurt so badly. She tried to move her hands when she heard some muffled voices but her limbs refused to obey her. Trying to open her eyes, she slowly started gaining some vision. Everything was blurry and unfocused at first but, as her eyes adjusted to the light, she was gradually able to see clearly.

There were needles and tubes everywhere, she had a feeding tube, a needle in her veins and an IV in her arm. And then, Sakura saw her husband's face hovering over her.

"Hi." Sasuke said and she could swear he had tears on his eyes. Sasuke kissed her forehead and his lips lingered, his breath was ragged against her skin, almost as if he had been running.

Sakura wanted to say hi, to greet him back but she couldn't find her voice, the only thing coming out of her mouth were croak like sounds that didn't seem like her voice at all.

"It's ok," Sasuke reassured her, caressing her hair. "I'm here."

Sakura heard the distant sound of a baby crying and her heart stopped, her baby, where was her baby? Why wasn't he with her?

"Baby?" She finally managed to ask.

Sasuke turned around and said nothing and that was the answer she was looking for. No, it couldn't be. Her heart dropped, not her baby boy, he couldn't. No! tears started leaking from her eyes at the thought of the baby she had never met but whom she loved with her whole heart. That baby had been a part of her, he had grown inside her all these months, had been conceived in a moment of love. And now her baby boy was gone.

Sasuke turned back to her and nestled in his arms was a little baby wrapped in blue blankets. Her husband tucked the small child on the bed, next to her head.

"He's a strong little boy." Sasuke said.

Sakura's hand instinctively wrapped around the baby, pressing her face closer to his, her nose noticing the baby smell that came from the boy. Cuddling against the baby, Sakura tenderly caressed his soft baby skin with the tip of her nose and pecked his small cheeks several times, letting the last tears fall and wet the blankets.

"My baby boy." Sakura breathed against the sleeping baby's face. She had jumped into the worst scenario much too soon. The ache in her heart was slowly going away, being replaced by a tenderness and happiness that resulted from having her baby boy in her arms, she loved this boy so much.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around them both, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. Sakura felt wetness spread around her neck and she realized her husband was crying.

"I'm sorry." He whispered brokenly. "I almost lost you both."

Carefully, Sakura wrapped her other hand in her husbands black hair, stroking his skull softly. Sasuke raised his head to look at her. "But you fought on and you've been so strong." He kissed her lips. "Thank you."

"For what?" Sakura asked, her voice still rough.

"For not leaving me alone."

.

the end

.

* * *

Continuation of birth, the end of this little (2 chapter) "series" XD.


	5. bath

**.**

**bath****·****/**bahth**/**·

_**noun·**__a large container for water, used for immersing and washing the body_

_._

Sakura ached all over. Her thirty-six hour shift at the hospital had sent all her muscles, joints and overall body straight to hell. Just the walk from the hospital to her house seemed too much to bear on her exhausted body. Although, she was certainly looking forward to take a long, warm bubble bath in that huge tub of Sasuke's. It was one of the perks from moving into the Uchiha manor, everything was big and comfortable and that huge, Jacuzzi like tub was just what her sore muscles needed.

As she entered the house, she quickly took off her shoes and ran upstairs to the master bathroom. Sakura made sure the water was at the right temperature, plugged in the stopper, put a nice, lavender smelling soap in the tub and the water fill the big tub. While she waited, she went downstairs to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine and then another and then another and another. Sakura decided that it was best if she took the wine with her upstairs which she left on top of the toilet while she undressed herself.

As soon as the tub was filled, she got into the water and instantly, a moan of pleasure left her lips. Oh, the relief.

Sakura settled herself against the tub and poured another glass of wine. She must have fallen asleep for she wakes up with a pair of hands massaging her shoulders.

Sakura moans softly. "You're back."

"Hn." Was her only answer. Sakura wasn't expecting him to be back yet…or maybe she was? The shift at the hospital had her days all messed up.

She was almost falling asleep again when his hands left her shoulders and she heard the water falling to the ground. Sakura opened her eyes lazily and saw her husband staring back at her, sitting at the other end of the tub.

Smiling at him, she swam over to Sasuke's side and settled herself on his lap.

"Welcome home." She kissed his lips passionately and reached between their bodies, stroking his length with her hands.

Soon enough, the water was everywhere in the bathroom floor.


	6. box

.

**box****·****/b****o****ks/****·**

_**noun**_**·**_a container with a flat base and sides, typically square or rectangular and having a lid_

_._

Finishing packing up the last of her clothes, Sakura moved the brown card box to the side. The pink haired konoichi double checked the closet to make sure she hadn't left any outfit behind. At the back of the closet she found an old, dusty mahogany box that, she remembered, contained all her precious memories.

Sakura smiled fondly at the sight of the box, taking it out and opening the small box up. A withered flower greeted her at the top of the pile inside the box, Sasuke had given that to her, almost ten years ago, after the war was over and when he had been officially reinstated as a shinobi of the leaf. It represented hope, he had said. Hope for the future.

The next object was a piece of Madara's cloak, symbolizing the end of the war and victory. Symbolizing Sasuke's return.

Then there was the bottled kidney from her first solo surgery, a hat that used to belong to the first patient who died in her hands, and old, empty sake bottle from Tsunade from when she had become her apprentice, the picture of team 7, the ribbon from Ino…and, at the very bottom, there was the picture of her parents. Sakura hadn't looked at it for so long. After their deaths, she simply couldn't deal with having all their stuff around her. It hurt too much so she gave it all to charity. All but the picture she now held in her hands that she had stuffed in the bottom of the box.

It was time for her to take the picture out of the box, her parents didn't deserve to be rotting on an old wooden box.

"We need to find a frame for that." Sakura turned and saw Sasuke start carrying the boxes by the door and she smiled, it always amazed her hoe he was always so in tune with her.

"Yeah." She said, looking at the picture. "We will."

"Are these the last ones?" he asked, motioning for the boxes he was now holding and she nodded. Yes, those were the last boxes, her house was officially bare of everything but walls and roof.

Sakura placed the picture back in the box of memories and shut it, following Sasuke downstairs. It was so strange, seeing the house empty of everything. It was sad that she was leaving, this was the house Sakura had grown up in, she had lived her whole life here but she was happy too, because she was starting a new life with the man she loves, a new life with Sasuke


	7. beggar

.

**beg·gar·**

_**noun·**a person who begs, especially one who lives by begging._

_._

There was silence, the minutes ticked by and nothing could be heard but the crickets in the night. Why had he called her here if he didn't intend to speak?

"Look, you obviously don't wanna talk and I have a hospital to run so, I'll be going." Sakura turned round to go back inside the hospital.

Sasuke grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Wait."

Sakura tapped her foot impatiently on the ground and she saw Sasuke clench his teeth and tighten his fists until they turned white.

"I'm..." Sasuke shook his head. "Sakura…I'm…"

The boy with the bottomless dark eyes groaned, as if pained, his eyes were shut very tightly thus making wrinkles appear on his handsome face and Sakura saw a tear leak from his right eye and then another from his left, and another, and another…And then he fell on his knees, actually, properly crying.

Sakura gasped, panicked, she had never seen Sasuke cry before. Stepping forward, she placed a hand on top of his head, caressing his hair tenderly.

"Hey…"She tried to comfort him but was stopped when her childhood crush hugged her by the hips, burring his face in her belly.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke whispered, his voice muffled. "I'm so sorry." He kept repeating and her shirt was getting increasingly wet with his tears.

Gasping, Sakura let her own tears fall, she felt all the pain and sadness within him and she understood that he wasn't apologizing just to her. The apology he was giving her was also a proxy to all the other people he felt he had to apologize to. Sasuke was apologizing to all the people he had failed, he was apologizing to his family, to Itachi, to Naruto…

And she cried too, while comforting the love of her life. Sakura cried because she understood now.


	8. bellows

.

**Bel·lows·**

_**noun·** a device with an air bag that emits a stream of air when squeezed together with two handles, used for blowing air into a fire_

.

Sasuke couldn't breathe, the air wasn't reaching his lungs and he was suffocating, Why couldn't he breathe?

The enemy nin in front of him started to blur and the konoha shinobi dropped to his knees on the wet grass, grabbing his chest in hopes that it would help him breathe. It was a useless effort, of course but it made him feel like he still had some sort of control.

"Seems like you are ready to join your lovely teammate." The man taunted him. Bastard. Just because Sasuke was down right now, didn't mean that he didn't have the power to strike him down. And he would, for Sakura.

Sakura…his heart ached just thinking about her. It wasn't supposed to be like this, she wasn't supposed to die, not yet. Anger and pain overwhelmed him, he would kill that man, he would kill that asshole and get revenge for Sakura. It only took a quick, electricity filled punch to the heart for the man to drop dead.

But he still couldn't breathe, his vision was increasingly unfocused and Sasuke was loosing strength. Why couldn't he breathe?

Sasuke dropped to the floor, feeling the wet grass beneath him, wetting his clothes but he had no strength left. Sasuke hear his name being called and he was sure it was Sakura's voice but it couldn't be, Sakura was dead. Maybe he's already dead too, maybe she's calling him to join her. That would be nice, joining Sakura.

"C'mon, Sasuke, breathe." Sasuke heard. He tried to do as he was told but he couldn't, he couldn't breathe.

Then there was something soft pressed against his lips, forcing air into his lungs and he could breathe again, he could move and he could open his eyes. Bright green eyes overwhelmed his line of sight and he saw her soft face and her pink hair and she was here, Sakura was alive.

"Sakura.." Sasuke reached for her face, to see if she was really there. She was, Sakura was alive and Sasuke could breathe again.

* * *

I'm sorry for not posting anything yesterday but i was so tired that i just couldn't bring myself to do it. Sorry :(


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